Dangote Refinery cuts petrol loading price to ₦1,250, switches to EBOB-linked pricing

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has cut its petrol loading price to ₦1,250 per litre after abandoning fixed gantry pricing for a system linked to international gasoline prices. The new arrangement took effect on Saturday, November 7, 2026, and came with a restructuring of the refinery’s marketing consortium.

The change represents a ₦50 reduction from the previous fixed gantry rate of ₦1,300 per litre, about 3.85%. It returns the refinery to the European Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending benchmark, EBOB, which tracks international gasoline prices. The refinery had previously used a five-day average of the benchmark before switching to the fixed gantry rate.

Prices can move with global market

Under the EBOB-linked system, fluctuations in international gasoline prices can influence the refinery’s domestic selling rates. That means wholesale petrol prices could rise or fall depending on global market movements. Diesel, known as Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, remains under the refinery’s fixed gantry pricing arrangement.

The move comes amid growing competition in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, where refiners, importers and depot operators are adjusting prices in response to changing global oil market conditions.

Consortium cut to 25 marketers

Dangote Refinery also reduced the number of marketers in its distribution consortium from 37 to about 25. An industry source linked the restructuring to concerns that some consortium members were contributing to downward pressure on petrol prices. The refinery reviewed the arrangement and removed some companies. There has been no official confirmation that the membership cut directly influenced the latest petrol price adjustment.

The 25 marketers reportedly retained include NIPCO, MRS, Ardova, Fagbem, Masters, Bovas, Optima, Nepal Energies, Mainland, NNPC, Sobaz, Northwest and Danmarna. Others are A.A. Rano, Rainoil, Pinnacle, AYM Shafa, Salbas, Heyden, Eterna, TotalEnergies, Bongas, Soroman, Pivot and Techno Oil.

No automatic pump price cut

The ₦1,250 figure is the refinery’s loading price. It excludes transportation, distribution expenses and marketers’ margins. Nigerians should not expect an automatic reduction to ₦1,250 per litre at filling stations. Retail petrol prices may continue to vary across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other cities.

The development raises expectations that increased competition and declining international product prices could eventually translate into lower pump prices. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, had warned petroleum refiners and marketers over high petrol and diesel prices despite declining crude oil prices in the international market. Nigerians were still paying between ₦1,325 and ₦1,420 per litre for petrol at the time.

For marketers, the benchmark-linked arrangement may create opportunities to buy petrol at lower rates when global prices decline. For consumers, the benefit will depend on transport costs, distribution expenses and margins at the pump.